Special delivery! Pizza partnership brings a slice of childhood happiness to homeless

Victoria Bull

A takeaway pizza is a weekend luxury for many, but for Dacorum’s homeless it’s difficult enough to scrape together their standard three meals a day.

That’s exactly why Domino’s Pizza in Maylands Avenue has launched a charitable partnership with the borough’s homelessness support organisation, DENS.

Domino's Pizza launches its partnership with DENS

The idea came about from a promotion the American brand was running which granted customers a free small pizza when they registered for the offer on Facebook.

One customer suggested offering pizza-lovers the chance to donate their free food to charity, and the company quickly acted on the benevolent brainwave – delivering the donated tasty treats to homeless people using the DENS day centre and night shelter in Hemel Hempstead.

Last week more than 50 pizzas which had been given by customers were handed out to those who use DENS services – which is usually around 30 people a day at the day centre alone.

DENS’ marketing and fundraising manager Anna Rackett said: “We are truly grateful for this delivery by Domino’s Pizza and are excited about our new

Domino's Pizza launches its partnership with DENS

partnership. We would like to extend our deepest thanks to customers who decided to donate their free pizzas to homeless people.

“For many people we support, the meal at the Day Centre is the only meal they will have in a day, so having a pizza is a real treat for them.

“Having a pizza is more than just a meal. It enables many homeless people to rekindle memories of their childhood, when they might have eaten pizza

with their families.

“Those are happy memories when everything was fine and life did not have so many ups and downs which many homeless people

experience. Rekindling this memory gives people a feeling that everything is going to be fine. In those moments, having a pizza is like having a slice of happiness.”

Day centre manager Wade Dingle said the charity spends more than £30 per day feeding the centre visitors, so the help offered by Domino’s will save the charity money for the duration of the partnership. He said: “I think it’s great the idea came from a customer – it’s nice that there are members of the public and businesses like Domino’s out there who want to support us.”

Last week’s launch coincided with the first birthday of the Maylands Avenue Domino’s branch.

Marketing manager for Domino’s Hemel Hempstead Irina Bucso said: “said: “We are delighted to work with DENS as we believe the work they do is fantastic.

“We would like to commend our customers for this excellent idea. We are passionate about supporting our local community and will continue to look out for opportunities in which to do so.”